African American Childrens authors

December 31, 2021
African American Authors

Author Award Winner

Kadir Nelson, author and illustrator of “Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans” (Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers). “Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans” is an extensive volume focusing on American history as it intertwines with the lives of African Americans. The story is told from the viewpoint of an elderly woman who shares her life story while highlighting pivotal historical events including abolition, the Great Migration, World War II, and the Civil Rights movement.

Illustrator Award Winner

Shane W. Evans, illustrator of “Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom” (A Neal Porter Book, published by Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership). Effective interplay of dark and light—dark blues and greens that represent fear and oppression; bright golds that signal the joy of freedom—characterizes this portrayal of a band of slaves’ nighttime escape. They run, rest, get help from others, and finally celebrate their hard-won liberation.

Author Honor

Eloise Greenfield, “The Great Migration: Journey to the North, ” illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist and published by Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Patricia C. McKissack, “Never Forgotten, ” illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon and published by Schwartz & Wade Books, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

Illustrator Honor

Kadir Nelson, author and illustrator of “Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans, ” published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Coretta Scott King - Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement

Ashley Bryan, storyteller, artist, author, poet, and musician whose numerous awards include the Coretta Scott King Book Award for "Let it Shine" and "Beautiful Blackbird."

2011

Author Award Winner

Rita Williams-Garcia, author of One Crazy Summer (Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers). Eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters travel to Oakland, Calif. in 1968 to face the emotional challenge of reaching out to a distant mother and learn about a different side of the Civil Rights Movement. Themes of friendship, family and identity intertwine with broader social issues in this compelling historical novel.

Illustrator Award Winner

Bryan Collier, illustrator of Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave, written by Laban Carrick Hill (Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.). Dave, a slave in 19th century South Carolina, demonstrated extraordinary talent and skill to achieve creative success. At a time when it was illegal for slaves to read and write, the eloquent poetry on Dave’s remarkable pots provided inspiration and hope to those who had none.

Author Honor

Walter Dean Myers, author of Lockdown (Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers).

Jewell Parker Rhodes, author of Ninth Ward (Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.).

G. Neri, author of Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty, illustrated by Randy DuBurke (Lee & Low Books, Inc.).

Illustrator Honor

Javaka Steptoe, author of Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow: A Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix, written by Gary Golio (Clarion Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company).

John Steptoe Award for New Talent

Victoria Bond and T. R. Simon, authors of Zora and Me (Candlewick Press).

Sonia Lynn Sadler, illustrator of Seeds of Change, written by Jen Cullerton Johnson (Lee & Low Books, Inc.).

Coretta Scott King - Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement

Dr. Henrietta Mays Smith, professor emerita at the University of South Florida, Tampa, School of Library and Information Science

2010

Author Award Winner

Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, author of Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie (Carolrhoda Books, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.).